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West Virginia State University Athletics

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FB23 Team
Photo: Todd Griffith
24
West Virginia St. WVS 4-2 , 4-1
31
Winner Notre Dame (OH) NDC 4-2 , 3-2
West Virginia St. WVS
4-2 , 4-1
24
Final
31
Notre Dame (OH) NDC
4-2 , 3-2
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
WVS West Virginia St. 14 0 10 0 24
NDC Notre Dame (OH) 7 7 3 14 31

Game Recap: Football | | James Garcia, Sports Information Director

Yellow Jackets come up short at Notre Dame College

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The West Virginia State University football team (4-2, 4-1 MEC) traveled to Notre Dame College (4-2, 3-2 MEC) on Saturday afternoon and came up short by a final score of 31-24. The Falcons seized the lead late in the fourth quarter and did not relinquish it despite a good effort by the Yellow Jackets.

KEY PLAYERS
  • Quarterback Donovan Riddick completed 16-of-32 passes for 225 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed eight times for 112 yards (14.0 yards per attempt) and another score.
  • Wideout Nolan Johnson caught five passes for 81 yards (16.2 yards per reception) to lead the receiving corps. 
  • Running back Joel Felder rushed 16 times for 91 yards (5.7 yards per carry) and reeled in three passes for another 22 yards of offense.
  • Linebacker Jalen Jones made eight total tackles to lead the WVSU defense, including five solo tackles.
  • Linebacker Kameron Vargas made six total tackles, including five solo tackles and two tackles-for-loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Both teams started the game off with scoring drives. The Falcons started their first drive from State's 42 yard line and crossed the goal line just four plays later, 7-0. The Yellow Jackets responded on their first drive with a 50-yard touchdown reception by Marqus Ray, 7-7.
  • West Virginia State scored once more before the end of the first quarter. Riddick completed a pass to Juwan Bunch who made a move and found the end zone from 39 yards out, 14-7.
  • Notre Dame got the ball back early in the second quarter and put together a scoring drive to tie the game. A 31-yard pass completion on second down near midfield made up the biggest chunk of yardage on the 80-yard touchdown drive.
  • Brennen Schmitt missed on a 44-yard field goal attempt with 3:46 remaining in the second half. The Falcons took over and were on their way to setting up their own field goal attempt before a fumble was recovered by defensive back Nick Blake. The turnover with 12 seconds to go left the score knotted at 14-apiece at the break.
  • Riddick linked up with Johnson for a 39-yard gain shortly after State received the second half kickoff. Schmitt ended up converting a 40-yard field goal attempt later in the drive to give WVSU the lead, 17-14.
  • NDC took nearly eight minutes off the clock on the ensuing drive. Defensive tackle Nazir Jones stuffed Notre Dame's running back on third and goal from the six yard line to force a field goal attempt which was successful, 17-17.
  • On the third play of the next drive, Riddick rolled out to his right and found a crease down the sideline for a 59-yard rushing touchdown, 24-17. The Yellow Jackets held on to the one-score lead going into the fourth quarter.
  • After failed drives by both teams, Notre Dame was able to tie the game with an 11 play, 68-yard scoring drive. The drive started with a Jy Martin pick that was nullified by a pass interference penalty and ended with a rushing touchdown from six yards out, 24-24.
  • On the first play of the following drive, Riddick threw an interception that gave the Falcons possession at State's 16 yard line. They found the end zone four plays later to seize the lead, 31-24, with around six minutes left in the contest.
  • The Yellow Jackets started their final drive of the game from their own seven yard line. They converted on third down and eight early in the drive. Then, on fourth and four from their own 41 yard line, Riddick completed a pass to Felder to extend the drive. They eventually made it down to Notre Dame's 17 yard line but turned the ball over on downs with 25 seconds remaining.
EYE-CATCHING STATS
  • The WVSU defense gave up 230 rushing yards but held Notre Dame to only 143 passing yards.
  • The Yellow Jackets outgained the Falcons by 81 yards with 454 yards of total offense compared to 373 offensive yards by NDC.
  • Penalties were limited by both sides with each team only being penalized five times.
  • Both teams only turned the ball over once. The difference was that Notre Dame's turnover resulted in seven points.
NEXT UP

West Virginia State will be on a bye week due to the originally-scheduled Alderson Broaddus game being canceled. Meanwhile, Frostburg State will head to Concord next Saturday. The following Thursday, Oct. 19, will see the Bobcats host the Yellow Jackets for a 7 p.m. clash.  
 
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